Sneed For Senate 35 Canvassing 2/21/09

Today was the first day that our campaign hit the streets in an effort to spread our message of "Leadership, Common Sense Government, and Accessibility." It was a beautiful day in South Fulton County. I met with volunteers outside of my neighborhood clubhouse about 1:30pm. The weather must have been in the high 50's which was a little unusal for February. At any rate, it was part reunion as I saw people from my days on the Obama campaign trail, to co-workers, neighbors, fraternity brothers, and FB friends. Again I wish to reiterate my belief in the innate ability of the ordinary person to make change.

Our strategy was to distribute flyers with an attached business card to the beginning of District 35. District 35 is the second largest district in the state and merges in and out and around Atlanta. In my basement I have a big map of the district on a wall. My basement is kind of a campaign brain center. It's where all of the planning started. We packed up the flyers, and jumped into our cars. We started in my neighborhood Lakeside Preserve. I would hope that each of my neigbhors would support me. They have witnessed firsthand my work organizing our neighborhood and may remember some of my efforts on the Obama campaign. But I've learned that new candidates can't leave any stone unturned. We are going after ever single vote. My neighborhood has about 100 homes and a few more still under construction. We finished my neighborhood in about 10 minutes. It was great to get back out on the campaign trail in this manner. Up to this point we have used neighborhood association meetings, email campaigns, and a word-of-mouth approach to reach voters. It has been quite effective, but there is nothing like taking your message directly to a voter.

On a Saturday afternoon with good weather, one can expect people to be out in the yard or walking and exercising. So volunteers were armed with the message and prepared to engage voters when presented the opportunity. We distributed over 400 flyers. Our plan going forward is to canvass neighborhoods in District 35 one weekend and the next weekend to make phone calls to tell voters of our plans and how I want to lead, change and improve our community. You can join our campaign by emailing campaignmgr@georgesneed.com

1/29/09 Fulton County Police Department 2009 Neighborhood Watch Kickoff Forum

The Fulton County Police Department (FCPD) held a quarterly meeting of South Fulton County residents at Diamond Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the public of efforts being made to thwart crime and address the concerns of citizens. The panel included the FCPD Chief of Police, Cassandra Jones, Major Charlayne Turner, Tony Phillips of Code Enforcement, Sonja Brown, South Fulton Community Prosecutor, Gale Banks, Senior Chief-District Attorney's Office, Janet Martin, Court Watch Coordinator, Todd Ashley, Deputy Director Juvenile Court, Corporal Troy Blackmon, Neighborhood Watch Procedures, and Captain W. Yates of the Crime Suppresion Unit.

I attended the meeting and was given the opportunity to address the citizens in attendance which were approximately 100. Local news stations covered the meeting, and there were vendors soliciting anti-theft mechanisms for the home. Each panelist briefly discussed their specialty and provided contact information. Crime is a very common topic of South Fulton neighbors and friends. Though our area pales in comparison to the other municipalities and jurisdictions, we still have problems with crime. I briefly ended the discussion with what I would do as State Senator of District 35 to decrease crime. Specifically, I addressed the laws which prohibit citizens from witnessing juvenile trials and laws that prohibit juveniles trials to be decided by a jury.

I told the crowd that I would be tougher on juvenile crime and stop the revolving door which exists because of the 12 point system or Dentention Assessment Instrument (DAI). After the meeting I met with many of the citizens along with my campaign manager Carrisa Baptiste and we further discussed our platform of leadership, common sense government, and accessibility. The next meeting will be held in three months, at which time I expect to have officially declared my candidacy for State Senate District 35.

Volunteer Meeting Sneed For Senate 35

Join our campaign. You are invited to a meeting of volunteers on February 16, 2009, at 6:30p.m. The meeting will be held at Lakeside Preserve neighborhood clubhouse. Lakeside Preserve is located off Camp Creek Parkway at Old Fairburn Rd. We will discuss campaign plans and opportunities for volunteers to help mobilize our message. Please RSVP by replying to this note or if you need more information you may email: campaignmgr@georgesneed.com.We will also begin our first door to door canvassing effort on February 21, 2009, at 1:00p.m. We will meet at Lakeside Preserve clubhouse and disperse from that location into groups. More details given at the volunteer meeting.

Thank you for your support,

George Sneed

1/28/09 Lobbying For Family Planning and Women's Health

I joined members of Planned Parenthood and the Feminist Women's Health Center at the state Capitol to lobby State Senators on issues of family planning. Governor Perdue has required state agencies to cut their budgets to meet a projected $2.2 billion-plus budget shortfall. These cuts affect many human services programs but they include a very disproportionate cut in family planning funding. Out of a current family planning budget of $22 million, the state already cut our $7.5 million (34%) for FY 2009. Another $10 million (45%) is expected to be cut in the next budget year (FY 2010), which will be considered during the next legislative session in 2009.



Family planning services in Georgia have been chronically under-funded, never reaching more than 40-50% of the number of women who need publicly funded services.



-Publicy funded family planning helps women avoid the pregnancies they do not want and to plan the pregnancies they do.



-The best way to prevent unintended pregnancies is to ensure that women and families have access to contraceptive services.



-Family planning funding makes economic sense. Nationally, every public $1 invested in family planning saves at least $4.02. In Georgia, these savings are much higher.



I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Horacena Tate (D) District 38, and she shared what I felt was good advice. She encouraged me to also speak with Republican Senators considering they hold a majority in both Houses of the Assembly in Georgia. I plan an email campaign along with speaking to individual Senators. The funding from the federal government is likely to pass and will be sent to Georgia. I feel that it's important that we make our feelings known to the majority party about what should happen with those funds. I also spoke with Senator Kasim Reed (D), District 35, and he disagrees with the Governor's idea of an across the board cut of some of the state's budgets. He suggested the Governor is not cutting funding that affects things he supports, so it's not trully acorss the board. I asked him about protecting school budgets in south Fulton County which is very important to me. He feels that the degree to which cuts will actually happen are dependent on Stimulus funding dollars from the federal government.

Overall, the experience at the capitol was an enjoyable one as usual. It's a busy, bustling place, with lots of people with many agendas. It our democracy in action in Georgia and I feel right at home. I want to be there next year representing my friends and neighbors in District 35.